Combination steel and aluminum block



March 24, 1959 E. D. LIVINGSTON COMBINATION STEEL AND ALUMINUM BLOCK Filed Sept. 2'7, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I NV EN TOR.

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ATI'URN EYS United States Patent 2,879,031 COMBINATION STEEL AND ALUMINUM BLOCK Emmett D. Livingston, Norwich, N.

Application September 27, 1956, Serial No. 612,382

Claims. (Cl. 254-1343) This invention relates to pulley blocks particularly of the type having strands of different materials run over pulleys thereof, and in particular a pulley blockhaving shoe on the ends of pivotally mounted arms the auxiliary pulley is dropped whereby an aluminum cable is positioned on the main pulley of the pulley block and the aluminum cable is adapted to be drawn over the mainor aluminum pulley of the block.

The purpose of this invention is to provide a combination pulley block having trip instrumentalities therein wherein with a steel cable attached to an aluminum cable with a fastener such as the kellum grip the cables are adapted to travel on an auxiliary pulley until the aluminum wire or cable contacts a shoe to release, and drop the auxiliary pulley.

Pulley blocks have been provided of various types and designs, however, for conventional use a pulley block includes a single pulley or a plurality of juxtapositioned pulleys whereby ropes, cables, or the like trained over the pulleys travel over the same pulleys continuously. In some instances, such as in training aluminum cable over pulleys of pulley blocks it is desired to first run a-steel cable through the block and, after drawing an aluminum cable in position, drop the steel cable retaining-means whereby the aluminum cable travels over a particular aluminum pulley.

The object of this invention is, therefore, to provide means for incorporating a pair of pulleys in a pulley block wherein cables of dilterent materials may be drawn through the block and wherein one pulley may be used for one material and another for a different material.

Another object of the invention is to provide a combination steel and aluminum block in which steel carrying elements automatically drop to permit an aluminum cable to contact, only an aluminum pulley in the block.

A further Object of the invention is to provide a combinationsteel and aluminum block which is of a simple and economical construction.

With these and other objects and advantages in view the invention embodies a large pulley rotatably mounted; between side plates of a pulley block with a hook ex.-

tended from upper ends of the side plates, with an aux.-:

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of the combina-.

tion pulley block shown in Fig. v1.

2,879,031 Patented Mar. 24, 1959 Figure 3 is a sectional plan through the pulley block taken on line 33 of Fig. 1.

Figure 4 is a side elevational view similar to that shown in Fig. 1 showing the auxiliary pulley mounting elements dropped to permit aluminum cable drawn through the pulley block to ride in the groove of an aluminum pulley.

Figure 5 is a sectional plan looking downwardly upon the pulley block with the parts shown on an enlarged scale and with the auxilary pulley and mounting v thereof shown in elevation.

Figure 6 is a cross section taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 5 with the parts shown on an enlarged scale illustrating the mounting of the auxiliary pulley of the block.

Figure 7 is a view showing one of the links for connecting the auxiliary pulley shaft to openings in the lower ends of the plate, the parts being shown on an enlarged scale.

Figure 8 is a side elevational view of the links shown in Fig. 7.

Figure 9 is a view showing one of the arms for holding the shoe that is engaged by the end of the aluminum cable, the parts being shown on an enlarged scale.

Figure 10 is a front elevational view of the arms shown in Fig. 9, the parts being shown on an enlarged scale.

Figure 11 is a side elevational view similar to that shown in Fig. 1 with the parts on a reduced scale showing a steel cable extended through the pulley block and connected to the end of an aluminum cable.

Figure 12 is a side elevational view similar to that shown in Fig. 11 showing the fastening element such as the kellum contacting the shoe on the upper ends of the arms of the auxiliary pulley mounting.

Figure 13 is a view similar to that shown in Fig. 4 with the parts dropped to inoperative positions, and with the aluminum cable positioned on the pulley of the pulley block.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference characters denote corresponding parts the improved combination steel and aluminum pulley block of this invention includes a pulley 10 rotatably mounted on a sleeve 11 on a shaft 12 between side plates 13 and 14 with the shaft held between bars 15 and 16 on the outer surfaces of the side plates, an auxiliary or pull cord receiving pulley 17 mounted on a stud 18, end bars or arms 19 and 20, links 21 and 22 pivotally connecting lower ends of the bars 15 and 16 to depending legs 23 and 24 carried by the bars or arms 19 and 20, a shoe 25 supported on the upper end of bars 26 and 27, and a hook 28' extended from the upper end of the block.

The sleeve 11 upon which the pulley 10 is mounted is locked against a shoulder 29 on the shaft 12 by a lock nut 30 threaded on the opposite end of the shaft and the shaft is also provided with a nut 31 that provides a head. A spring finger forming a guide 32 is positioned below the nut 31 and a similar finger or guide 33 is mounted under the nut 30.

The side plates 13 and 14 are secured, in spaced relation, at the lower end of the block with sleeves 34 and 35 on bolts having heads 36 and 37 at one side and nuts 38 and 39, respectively, at the other. A bolt 40 also extends through the lower edges of the side plates, the ends of which extend through lower ends of the bars 15 and 16 and also through the ends of the links 21 and 22, providing pivotal mounting means for the links and, as shown in Fig. 2, the links are retained in position by nuts 41 and 42, threaded on the ends of the bolts.

The links 21 and 22 are formed as illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8 with Openings 43, through which the ends of the bolts 40 extend, in one end, and with openings 44 by means of which the links are secured to the legs 23 and 3 24 by cap screws 45 in the other. The links are also provided with longitudinally idisposed flanges 46.

The legs 23 and 24 are mounted with the upper ends thereof on the bolt 18 upon which the auxiliary or small pulley 17 is positioned and with the lower ends mounted on the cap screws 45. The lower ends of the legs 23 and 24 are provided with U-shaped stop members 47 and 48 having clips 49 and 50 on outer ends thereof, the parts 47 and 48 providing stops for the links 21 and 22 with the parts in the position illustrated in Fig. 1. The legs 23 and 24 are provided with flanges 51 and 52, the outer edges of which are inclined, as illustrated in Fig. 2.

The shoe 25 is formed with duplicate sections 53 and 54 which are secured to flanges 55 and 56 of the supports 26 and 27 by bolts 57 and 58 and the lower ends are provided with clips 59 and 60 by which the supports are secured to the legs 23 and 24 with cap screws 61. The lower ends of the supports 26 and 27 are provided with inclined surfaces 62 that engage upper edges of the legs 23 and 24 with the parts in the position shown in Fig. 1. The cap screws 61 are positioned in openings 63 in the clips 59 and 60 and the flanges 55 and 56 at the upper ends of the supports are provided with openings 64 for the bolts 57 and 58.

The block is provided with a loop or latch 65 that is pivotally mounted in an eye 66 on the upper end of the bar 16 and, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the latch 65 snaps over a projection 67 on the base 68 of the hook 28, the opposite end of the base being pivotally mounted by a pin 69 in an eye 70 on the upper end of the bar 15.

The stud 18 upon which the small pulley 17 is rotatably mounted is also provided with a sleeve 71 that extends through the bars 19 and 20, as shown in Fig. 6. One end of the stud is provided with a collar 72 on which the leg 24 is mounted with a nut 73 threaded on an end 74 of the stud for retaining the leg in position, and the opposite end is provided with a threaded section 75 with the leg 23 mounted on a sleeve 76 with a nut or bushing 77 threaded on the threaded portion 75 of the stud. Spacing washers 78 and 79 are also provided between the bars 19 and 20 and the legs 23 and 24. The sleeve 71 extends through an opening 80 in the pulley 17 whereby the pulley is free to rotate on the sleeve and with the sleeve 71 of suflicient length the parts at the ends of the stud are clamped against ends of the sleeve providing a slight clearance at the ends of the pulley 17 whereby the pulley is free to rotate on the sleeve.

With the parts assembled as illustrated and described a steel cable or pull cord 81 is trained over the pulley 17 and, with the end of the cable attached to an eye 82 extended from a disc 83 on an aluminum cable 84 the steel cable is drawn through the pulley block until the connection between the steel and aluminum cable engages the shoe 25 whereby the shoe trips the swinging bracket formed with the bars 19 and 20, the links 21 and 22 and the legs 23 and 24 whereby the device drops to the position shown in Fig. 4 and with the parts in this position the aluminum cable 84 is positioned upon the main pulley 10. By this means the cable may be started by the steel cable and as the aluminum cable reaches the pulley block the device is automatically tripped to drop the. small pulley 17 and permit the aluminum cable to travel on the large or main pulley 10.

Aluminum cables used in high tension electric transmission lines are finished with a smooth highly polished surface and any scratches or roughness in or on the surface produces a strong corona effect when the cable is energized with resultant loss of energy and serious electric and magnetic interference is obtained when used in telephone, telegraph, radio and television communication and transmission lines. It is important, therefore, in stringing aluminum cable that the surface of'the cable is maintained free of all contact with the ground and particularly with other metal elements or with sand, grit, and the like. With this thought in mind this invention contemplates drawing the end of an aluminum cable into position on a pulley block with a steel cable or rope on a separate or auxiliary pulley and as soon as the end of the aluminum cable reaches the block the cable is transferred to a different pulley so that the surface of the aluminum cable receiving pulley is not subject to being scratched or roughened by the steel cable and presents a smooth even surface to the highly polished aluminum cable.

It will be understood that modifications, within the scope of the appended claims, may be made in the design and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a combination pulley block, spaced parallel vertically positioned side plates, a hook carried by upper ends of the side plates, 21 main pulley rotatably mounted in the side plates and positioned between said plates, pivotally mounted bars positioned between the side plates, an auxiliary pulley rotatably mounted in said bars, means hingedly connected to the pulley block for supporting the auxiliary pulley with the upper surface in a plane spaced above the upper surface of the main pulley, and means v hingedly connected to the pulley block and to said last said means and actuated by a cable trained through the pulley block for actuating the supporting means to drop the auxiliary pulley below the upper surface of the main pulley as an obstruction on the cable passes through the pulley block.

2. In a pulley block, the combination which comprises spaced parallel side plates, a large aluminum cable receiving pulley positioned between the side plates, a shaft 1 extended through the side plates and pulley for rotatably mounting the pulley in the block, a hook hinged to the upper end of the block, a latch for retaining the hook in an operative position, bars mounted on the shaft and extended from one side of the pulley block, a small pulley positioned between the bars, a stud extended through the small pulley and bars for rotatably mounting the small pulley in the bars, legs pivotally mounted on the stud and depending from the bars, links pivotally mounted on the side plates and pivotally connected to lower portions of the legs, supports pivotally mounted on the legs and ex- 1 tended upwardly therefrom, a shoe positioned with secj tions thereof on upper ends of the supports, spring fingers v mounted on the pulley block and extended over the legs of the small pulley supporting element for retaining the parts with the small pulley positioned with the upper surface in a horizontally disposed plane spaced above a I plane on the upper surface of the large pulley, and a cable having an obstruction thereon trained throughv'the pulley block and positioned to engage the shoe for actuating the parts to drop the small pulley.

3. In a pulley block, the combination which comprises spaced parallel side plates, vertically disposed bars positioned on outer surfaces of the side plates, a shaft extended through the side plates and vertically disposed bars, a; sleeve on the shaft, a main pulley rotatably mounted on the sleeve of the shaft, a hook hinged to the upper end of one of the vertically disposed bars positioned onthe l outer surfaces of the side plates, a latch pivotally connected to the upper end of the vertically disposed bar on the outer surface of the other side plate, arms pivotally mounted on the shaft and extended from the pulley block, a stud extended between the arms, a small pulley rotatablyv mounted on said stud and normally positioned above said main pulley between said arms, legs pivotally mounted on the stud and depending from the arms,links connecting lower ends of the legs to lower ends of the arms on the outer surfaces of the side plates, spring fingers mounted on the pulley block and positioned to snap over the legs of the supporting means of the small pulley, supports pivotally mounted on the legs, and means on upper ends of the supports for engaging an obstructionon a cable passing through the pulley block for actuating the parts to drop the small pulley below the upper surface of the main pulley.

4. In a pulley block, the combination which comprises spaced parallel side plates, vertically disposed bars positioned on outer surfaces of the side plates, a shaft extended through the side plates and vertically disposed bars, a sleeve on the shaft, a main pulley rotatably mounted on the sleeve of the shaft, a hook hinged to the upper end of one of the vertically disposed bars positioned on the outer surfaces of the side plates, a latch pivotally connected to the upper end of the vertically disposed bar on the outer surface of the other side plate, arms pivotally mounted on the shaft and extended from the pulley block, a stud extended between the arms, a small pulley rotatably mounted on said stud and normally positioned above said main pulley between said arms, legs pivotally mounted on the stud and depending from the bars, links connecting lower ends of the legs to lower ends of the arms on the outer surfaces of the side plates, supports pivotally mounted on the legs, means on upper ends of the supports for engaging an obstruction on a cable passing through the pulley for actuating the parts to drop the small pulley below the upper surface of the main pulley, and spring fingers positioned at the sides of the pulley block and mounted on ends of the shaft upon which the main pulley is mounted for urging the operating parts inwardly toward said side paltes.

5. In a pulley block, the combination which comprises a pair of spaced parallel side plates, a shaft having a sleeve thereon extended between the side plates and rigidly mounted therein, an aluminum cable receiving pulley rotatably mounted on the sleeve, a hook having a base positioned between upper ends of the side plates, a latch for connecting one of the side plates to the base of the hook, arms pivotally mounted on the shaft and extended from one edge of the pulley block, legs pivotally mounted in extended ends of the arms and depending therefrom, a pull cord cable pulley positioned between the arms and pivotally mounted in the extended ends of said arms, said pull cord cable pulley being mounted on a shaft extended through the arms and legs, links pivotally mounted on lower ends of the side plates, at one end and pivotally connected at the opposite ends to the legs, said links, arms, and legs comprising brackets with the arms and links substantially parallel, latch means for supporting the brackets in upwardly disposed positions wherein the upper surface of the pull cord pulley is positioned in a horizontal plane spaced above a horizontal plane positioned on the surface of the aluminum cable receiving pulley, and a shoe extended upwardly from said bracket and positioned to be engaged by an obstruction on a cable on the small pulley for drawing the bracket outwardly to release the latch means whereby the pull cord receiving pulley drops to an elevation below that of the aluminum cable receiving pulley.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,709,068 Waterstreet May 24, 1955 2,765,145 Martin Oct. 2, 1956 2,806,380 Martin Sept. 17, 1957 

